Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 February 2026
195. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the amount in 2024 and 2025 of rPET pellet produced in the State; the amount that is recycled within the State; the amount exported from the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14626/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs matters stand, there are no official statistics confirming the amount of rPET, or recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate pellet produced, recycled or exported from the State.
Statistics for the recycling of plastic packaging waste are collected by the EPA on an annual basis. However, the EU list of waste codes does not isolate individual polymers, so it is not possible to establish how much of this is rPET material.
Including PET within the waste code system would improve our understanding of the movement and use of this material and Department officials have asked the European Commission to expand the List of Waste codes to provide greater granularity for plastic polymers.
Ireland has facilities which convert PET waste into rPET flake and pellet but we do not currently have a facility producing pellet of a food grade quality.
Due to strict EU food safety standards, rPET to be used in food or drink packaging must meet a higher recycling standard, i.e. be of food grade.
With the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme, Re-turn, the DRS operator collected a total of 12,057 tonnes of PET plastics in 2024, its first year of operation. This material was sold on the open market. 4,037 tonnes of material (34%) was bought by companies in Ireland. Re-turn has advised that the 2025 figures are not yet available, but will be published in their 2025 annual report which is due mid-year.
For the first time, a separate and high quality stream of PET is available for food-grade recycling. This development will help beverage producers meet the Single Use Plastics Directive requirement for beverage bottles to include 25% recycled content from 2025 (rising to 30% from 2030).
